QB swap upsets Hanie

By TOM MUSICK - tmusick@shawmedia.com

BOURBONNAIS – Bears quarterback Caleb Hanie kept his helmet on after the end of Monday’s practice, but that did little to hide his frustration.

Hanie declined to comment after he spent more than an hour watching Jay Cutler and rookie Nathan Enderle take turns under center during 7-on-7 and full team drills. Coaches gave Enderle snaps with the second team, at least for a day, after evaluating film from Saturday’s preseason opener.

Bears coach Lovie Smith did not say whether the change was short term or long term.

“You look at how a guy played, and that determines what type of reps he gets the following week,” Smith said. “We want to see what [Enderle] can do when he gets a few more reps in practice.”

Hanie is no stranger to Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz’s doghouse. He spent most of last season as the third-string quarterback despite the abysmal play of veteran Todd Collins, who finished the season with a 5.9 passer rating.

Sidelined: Bears defensive end Corey Wootton could miss about a month because of a knee injury that he suffered on Saturday’s opening kickoff.

Wootton took on a blocker when he planted his leg awkwardly in the sod.

“Freak accident on the kickoff,” Smith said. “We’re evaluating him still. He might need a little bit of minor surgery, a minor scope.”

It’s uncertain whether Wootton will be fully healthy in time for the regular-season opener Sept. 11 against the Atlanta Falcons.

Resting: Bears cornerback Zackary Bowman sat out Monday’s practice two days after leaving the preseason opener with a head injury.

Bowman said he could have practiced, but Smith said the team wanted to be take precautions and hinted that Bowman could be out for a few days.

“It happened so quick,” said Bowman, who was injured when he slammed into Bills wide receiver Paul Hubbard to break up a pass. “Probably for about 15 seconds, I was kind of out of it.

“But, shoot, I came to very quick and was very coherent. I could read everything, answer all their questions, tell them everything. So I’m good.”